Nov 29, 2008 2:24 pm US/Eastern
Coast Guard: Don't Go In The Water
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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Now that we're approaching winter the Coast Guard has a friendly and important reminder for everyone - stay out of the water.
That doesn't mean you can't go out in a boat or go fishing.
It means if you're near the water - don't try jumping in or swimming because we are now in the season for
sudden cold-water immersion, which can kill you.
WATER TEMPS BELOW 50
Water temperatures are now below 50 degrees.
"Even for the most experienced mariner, a fall into cold water is painfully shocking," Al Johnson, the recreational boating specialist for the First Coast Guard District in Boston, said in a statement Saturday.
"On sudden cold-water immersion there will be shock, panic, gasping, hyperventilation and an immediate rise in breath and heart rates and blood pressure and an inability to hold your breath," said Johnson. "Without a life jacket, it is extremely difficult to maintain floatation or swim."
WEAR A LIFE JACKET
The Coast Guard says 54 recreational boaters have died this year - and only one was wearing a life jacket.
"The important thing to remember is this can happen to anyone and, if it does, simply wearing your life jacket could save your life," said Johnson. "Plain and simple, when you need your life jacket, you need it on."
Johnson said life jackets are mandatory for boaters in Massachusetts and Connecticut through May 2009.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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